Snow brings slippery roads, crashes

DOVER — Several area police departments reported an uptick in car crashes Saturday morning due to the inclement weather, though it appeared there were no injuries.

In Rochester, a rollover crash was reported near Salmon Falls Road in the early afternoon. Officials responding, including Rochester police and fire departments, found a 1998 Isuzu Rodeo vehicle on its side in an embankment. Police subsequently issued a court summons to Antonio W. Guyer, of Somersworth, for operating his vehicle in a snowstorm without proper seating in the vehicle.

Guyer reportedly told officers he was headed to the local scrap yard to dispose of his vehicle but he took out the front seats to sell them. He was reportedly operating the vehicle while sitting on an old car battery which Rochester police said, in a press release, caused the driver to lose control and crash.

He will appear before Rochester Circuit Court on Jan. 7.

As of 11:30 a.m., the Dover Police Department reported they had bee notified of nine collisions since 9 a.m. A dispatcher warned drivers to proceed with caution and to keep a fair distance from other vehicles due to icy conditions on city roads.

According to the National Weather Service, the Seacoast has received ½ inch to 1 inch of snow, and could expect to see another inch of precipitation by the end of the day. NWS Meteorologist Nikki Becker said the precipitation may also turn to freezing rain by the end of the day, with a warm front headed through the area.

In Somersworth, a police dispatcher reported he had heard of at least five accidents in the community by early afternoon. Patrolman Kevin Abbott said a highway cruiser was working to scrape ice off the side roads, but residents should continue to drive slowly.

A police sergeant in Portsmouth said the road conditions in the city were not as severe as those in the northern communities.